Gadgets to get you through the election

With the American elections coming up in less than a week there is an overwhelming amount of hot air coming from your screen. Every other commercial is from a politician, and they are all blowing hard about what they believe or what they will do or why their opponent is such a screw up. With all that wind blowing in your living room you might as well do something with it. Here, then, are five ways to capture and use that wind power:

Venturi Eclectic – This odd looking car is entirely self-powered. Its power comes primarily from the huge solar panels all over it, but it also has the ability to turn wind power into electrical power to move it on down the road. It would be ironic if you drove to the polls in a vehicle powered by the bluster and ridiculousness of the very people you were planning to vote against.

Sun and wind powered ferry – San Francisco is about to buy two 600 passenger ferries from an Australian manufacturer. They have a large and odd looking wing on top which can provide up to 170 horsepower from the blowing wind. That power complements the power from the solar panels on the wing. Of course a diesel engine still provides the bulk of the power to keep big oil happy.

Air-X personal wind turbine – If you stuck one of these in your living room during election season your electric bills would disappear. This mini wind turbine can provide 400 watts of power when the wind is blowing at 28 mph. It is specially engineered to reduce the whining sound that typically comes from wind turbines, so the only whining you will hear will come from your TV.

Micro windmill charger – This concept created by an Indian engineer uses the power of the wind, and a windmill that looks like something you would buy at a souvenir stand at the circus. The blades are just 10 cm across, so you can easily pack it up and carry it with you wherever you go. You could use the politician’s hot air to charge your mp3 player, then use it to drown out the crap that they are spouting. Seems like a perfect solution.

Cellphone pistol – If none of those wind powered solutions are working for you, you might want to look at the cellphone that doubles as a .22 caliber pistol. It can hold four bullets and fires them out of the antenna when you press certain keys. Of course, I’m only suggesting that you use it to shoot your TV so that you don’t have to watch the commercials anymore. Anything else would be irresponsible and probably not worth the hassle.